In 2012, the European Union banned the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in plastic bottles. In 2017, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) classified it as a “substance of very high concern”. Since then, the product has been abandoned in favor of bisphenol S (BPS). But it would seem that this substitute is even more harmful than its predecessor, suspect researchers from the National Veterinary School of Toulouse, the Toxalim laboratory as well as the universities of Montreal (Canada) and London (United Kingdom).
Their research, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives this Wednesday, June 17, indicate that bisphenol S (ingested orally) would be maintained three and a half times longer and at higher concentrations in the body of piglets than bisphenol A. The substance would thus have the same effects as a endocrine disruptor.
Health risks?
Today, bisphenol S is used in the manufacture of thermal papers (receipts), toys, certain plastic packaging, but also cans and cans. Its dangerousness would be effective when the food would have been contaminated by the BPS present in the containers. It remains the only component of the bisphenol family that can be used in France in food products.
“Replacing BPA with BPS could lead to increased human exposure to a hormonally active compound”, explain the scientists in their study. But it has so far only been interested in exposure rates, and not its effects on the body. The researchers thus ensure that “the toxicological data are still insufficient to assess the associated danger”.
“These results underline the importance of estimating the exposure (…) of the risk to human health linked to the substitution of substances of concern”, they conclude, however. In 2015, an American study already pointed out the potential risks of bisphenol S. Last September, further research also showed that the product disrupts the fertility of rodents and increases the risk of cancer.
Read also :
- Towards a list of all endocrine disruptors?
- Find our file on endocrine disruptors
